Night Vision

Snowy Vilnius

Well I’ve been here 36 hours and I still haven’t seen Vilnius in the daylight. Oops. I’ve spent most of today snoozing – it feels like I’ve not had a proper nights sleep for a week but I feel nice and refreshed now. To make up for my day of laziness I went for a walk to a viewpoint that Lina, our hostel host, recommended especially at night, on top of the old town walls.

Vilnius Old Walls

Now I don’t like to whip my map out too much in public as I hate looking like a tourist and thus a potential target. So I had a good look before I left and did the route by memory up until I came across what I thought was my turning, which was quite a narrow road, not as well lit as the main ones. Most of the other pedestrians were turning left instead of right down this side street, so I opted to follow them, and my nose and see if I could manage to take the scenic route to the town walls. They do say that the first thing you should do to explore a new city is get lost in it..

Republic of Uzupio

So for my next sight, I came across a large floodlit church (St Bartholomew’s), beyond which was a (snow-covered) green, a river and some pretty houses with twinkly Christmas lights. As I was surreptitiously trying to take photos of said twinkly lights without looking like a tourist, I realised I’d found the suburb of Užupis, and it had taken me hardly any time to get to, despite it looking quite a trek on the map. Vilnius, I am discovering, has quite a compact old town, so it’s nice and easy to explore.

Uzupio’s Emblem (as far as I could work out)

On my wander round, I passed several cosy-looking  bohemian eateries and a rather impressive statue called (I later found) the angel of Užupis, a depiction of the archangel Gabriel blowing his trumpet heralding the rebirth of artistic freedom in Eastern Europe. Or so the legend goes. It certainly engenders that kind of portentous feeling in the observer, at least with the atmospheric uplighting!

Republic of Uzupio

Užupis is interesting because it’s not actually part of Vilnius or indeed Lithuania, or so its residents would like everyone to think. This is the Independent Republic of Užupis! It was in fact the old Jewish quarter and since the second world war has been home to a variety of the displaced, which in turn attracted bohemians and artists as a haven from the Soviets, and in 1997 they declared themselves independent, complete with their own constitution (which I’ll put in my next post), currency, flag and president, although no-one is quite sure how serious all of that is. It seems to be more a statement of personal freedom and cultural harmony, and perhaps a reminder we shouldn’t take life so seriously anyway.

Marriage Love Locks over Vilnele

I crossed back over the river Vilnelė (the river which gives Vilnius its name no less) and noticed that the ironwork on the bridge was crammed with padlocks and the occasional ribbon. Puzzled I thought this must  be some bohemian statement, but Lina explained it was more universal than that and that it is a tradition at Lithuanian weddings for couples to “lock their love” with a padlock (inscribed with their names) to a bridge near their home, often as the groom carries his bride across (the Lithuanian threshold perhaps!). Which I thought was really lovely, even the rusty ones that had weathered the ravages of time.

I then made it up the snowy hill to the town walls, although I’m not sure if I found the right bit as the lovely views were a bit obscured by the walls themselves:

Night Time Lights

But to finish off the day, Lina took me to her favourite traditional cafe bar, as she’d been craving some sauerkraut soup all day (an excellent hangover cure apparently). I was keen to try the famous Zeppelin potato dumplings and Lina kindly ordered 2 for me without me realising! Man they were good, but there’s no way I could eat two – I was struggling with one. Not only are they basically massive sausages of minced pork wrapped in massive thick wads of potato dumpling, they come (at least at this place) doused in a creamy bacon sauce and a portion of herbs and seasoning. Absolutely delicious, perfect comfort food, and Lina has promised to give me her mother’s recipe for them to take home!

Zeppelin & Gira!

The bar also did some really good beers, some of which were from the local micro brewery. Now I’m not a big fan of beer, or ale, or anything related, but Lina suggested I try “Gira”, which she described as “bread beer”. It’s non alcoholic and quite sweet, with a hint of burnt caramel or honey. She wasn’t sure what went into making it but we both agreed it hit the spot! And after all that stodge, I think I’m ready for bed again and some more well-earned sleeping!

Panic on the Streets

Music is nice

There have of course been incalculable losses to businesses & livelihoods across the UK, my mind still boggles at how independent businesses will cope with the rebuild, and how the loss of retailers in towns and cities will affect those communities’ economies.

A cause of concern to me and lots of people I know is the arson at the Sony distribution warehouse during the Enfield riot on Monday night. This is the warehouse that stores physical releases from a large number independent artists & labels, before they are ordered for stock by your local indie record shop (if you’re lucky enough to have one left).

Messages posted by PIAS, the distribution company (the largest for independents in the UK), that looks after all of this state they are working hard to ensure that shops have enough stock of indie releases to continue viable trading, and they obviously are aware of how serious this situation could be for the (usually struggling) independent artists and labels whose stock was burnt by mindless louts.

Perhaps the louts think it’s an appropriate way to express themselves. How ironic that if they want “a future”, that they air their frustrations by destroying the efforts of those who have sacrificed the luxuries of a nice easy 9-5 to express themselves earning a living carrying on the great tradition of independent musicians, that of being a voice of a generation and giving hope, comfort, escape and a sense of belonging when times are difficult.

If you are concerned that these events might mean even more difficult times for independent musicians and the sometimes tiny labels that help put out their work, then here’s a list of the labels they distribute for. Have a look through, if you recognise any names, or know a favourite artist of yours is on one of them (or even if you don’t), then if you can buy something from them this week or next, physical or download, then I’m sure that’ll go some way to helping artists, small labels, and independent retailers get through what is a potentially very vulnerable situation. And you might discover some cracking new tunes too.

Hello World

This is a rather long-overdue post. Which I blame partly on Christmas and mince pie eating, partly on me doing a fair bit of other writing work in December (I’m putting all my written work on my portfolio now and keeping this blog for posts about travel and other generally cool experiences), and partly on spending time trying to co-ordinate madcap adventures – which I can proudly announce today I have just about finalised!

Reykjavik city centre will have to wait…

Some of you may know that spending 6 months volunteering in Iceland was my original plan for February, but unfortunately there’s been a problem with funding and the place I was promised has fallen through. I’m still hoping to go in May for a 4-6 week stint volunteering but that’s yet to confirm still.

But May’s a long way off right? Yup. Am I going to sit in my flat waiting for May? Nope….

I’m a big fan of slow travel, a concept embodied nicely by the Slow Travel Berlin Website. Take the time to soak in your surroundings, experience the culture and quirks of where you are, find out about what makes it tick, and enjoy yourself. So in this spirit I and my lomography-mad friend Dave are embarking on a 2-week train journey from St Pancras to Istanbul, via Brussels, Vienna, Budapest, Transylvania, Bucharest, and Veliko Tarnovo. Probably. From Budapest onwards we’re going to play exact timings by ear and explore the mystery and uniqueness of Eastern Europe. We plan to keep a photo blog on the trip in addition to my own entries here, although as Dave uses film a lot this may not be practical! I shall post details when I have them of course.

St Pancras to Istanbul. Click through for the original on seat61.com

But 2 weeks won’t keep me occupied for long, so in addition I have applied to live and work with the Maasai people of Kenya for 6 weeks. I will be working teaching kids at primary level and doing some blogging for them to help promote the Maasai culture (although this all could change of course). I’ve been anxious about making plans so different to my original ones, and have been agonising about where I’m going, why I’m going, how long to go for (and whether to keep my flat on or put everything in storage) and who will look after my cats (I’ve found them a fantastic holiday home with my other half Jamie’s best friend and his wife – phew! Their last cat lived on roast chicken though, let’s hope they don’t lose their taste for cheapo biscuits when I get back. At least I know I can always win Tinker over with a bit of broccoli and some cat crack (aka Whiskas Temptations in Salmon flavour…)).

Apparently there are elephants in Kenya

Most of all if I’m honest I’ve no idea what Kenya will be like – while a lot of people I’ve come across have either been to or done voluntary work in Africa, or at least have a burning desire to visit and meet the locals, I’m a bit Africa-naive. It’s always been the northern and baltic countries I’ve been drawn to – Russia, Scandinavia, Eastern Europe, Japan. Even central America has had more of a draw to me than Africa has, which is odd because it’s undoubtedly a stunningly beautiful and diverse continent. Perhaps it’s because I had family in Kenya when I was a kid, so even though I never went to visit nor was in much contact with them, it somehow seems not as mysterious, and consequently not as interesting . Or perhaps I’m wary of the legacy that white meddlers from just a few generations ago have left and I’m just not sure what my place would be. Yet.

MEAC volunteer with some of the Maasai

This has been part of the reason I have chosen to volunteer with an organisation run by the Maasai, for the Maasai, called Maasai Education and Advocacy for Change (MEAC) – rather than a Western organisation working with local Africans. The Maasai in particular are an intelligent and proud people with a pastoral heritage who have been marginalised by even their own Kenyan and Tanzanian governments, and denied use of their ancestral lands which have been designated game reserves for tourism. I like an underdog and I think that’s another reason why this particular organisation appealed.

Satellite image of Kimuka in the Ngong region. Click through for the original interactive GoogleMap

So I’m now booked and paid up to go as of today, and I’m starting to feel more confident and excited about my adventures. I think it’ll be a pretty fast learning curve over the next few weeks until I go (I’ve managed to order 11 books and novels on Eastern Europe and Africa which will at least keep me occupied for a while), but I think it’ll be worth it. If anyone has any questions, tips or advice then please feel free to ask and either way it’ll help!

Arty Facts

Travelling Butterflies by Pam Pauling, one of the Arts Trail Exhibitors

I’ve done a couple of interviews recently, one with Hana Gilbert who works at the Leeds gallery The Bowery, and who is organising the Headingley Arts Trail along with local businesses. It’s an opportunity to see local handmade arty things, and if you like, to buy an unusual Christmas pressie. It’s running on the 13th & 14th November, but don’t forget the launch evening on the 12th with free mince pies and mulled wine! All the information you need is in my article for the Culture Vulture.

The mischievous Lord Whitney woz ere

My next interview was with playfully inventive creative duo Lord Whitney, who have been nominated for the prestigious Illustrative Young Illustrators’ Award in Berlin, which will be announced on 5th November. Find out more about the award, how excited Lord Whitney are and just what exactly they’ll be exhibiting at the Awards exhibition on the Culture Vulture.

If you like their work and want to see it nearer to home than Berlin, then you can see what else they’re up to here.

August and Everything After

I’m sure you’re all dying to know what I’ve been up to then now I have my new-found freedom. The boring answer, sadly, is more work. Freelance locum work however, so that kinda makes it ok (nobody’s the boss of ME, right? Right. Good), and as the work will start drying up from next month I thought I’d best do some now or I won’t be able to buy catfood. Which wouldn’t make me very popular with this little character:

Furry madam

I *have* been up to some exciting stuff though, including lots of meetings of friends for tea, cake & coffee, spending time in fields (at Moorfest), and making lawts of shiny things as I’m doing my first craft fair next Friday. Come down and say hello. It’s at The Edge at Leeds University on Fri 3rd Sept in t’afternoon. I’ll tell you all about how that goes soon so watch this space.

Shiny stuff what I did make

I’ve also got an interview with Wild Beasts due to go in the next issue of No-Title Magazine. I met up with Tom & Ben from the band at Kendal Calling and got to chat to them about touring the US, what they like about Leeds, and their Mercury Prize nomination.

I ruddy love Wild Beasts and if you’ve not heard them, then you should quite frankly. In my personal opinion their nominated album Two Dancers pisses all over the competition (and it’s a really strong year with the likes of the XX, Foals,Biffy Clyro, Laura Marling, etc..) so I’ll be having everything crossed for them on Sept 7th. Hell, I’m even going to try and blag in to the awards. (*cough* if you are suitably connected to get me in, my email address is on the about me page).

Tom & Ben Beast

What I’m currently trying to avoid getting over-excited about is Leeds Festival – I’m off tomorrow early for Counterfeit [edit – after I’ve been to bed]. Nope, it’s no good, I’m rilly rilly excited!! We’ve been asked to cover as many new bands as possible, so not only do I avoid having to sit through a pissed-teenager-and-MOR-swamped main stage, I get to see about a million bands I’ve been wanting to see for ages, plus some of my favourite bands having tons of fun on stage.

I could start to list all the bands I want to see but I still have to find my wellies. However you’ll find me at the Festival Republic & BBC Introducing tents, especially if it’s noisy, new, and/or from Leeds or Sheffield. I’ll be dancing around, applying glitter to people, and looking for my pen.

I can’t look at this properly until I arrive because those wellies will never turn up otherwise, but the line-up looks like this. Scroll past the main stage bands and get stuck in!

Pyjamas & Cups, Leeds Fest 2009

You have to put up with me in over-excited mode a bit more though, because after that I have the Culture Vulture Secret Social to look forward to. Open to all, it’s a themed hobnobbing event, and Culture Vulture Emma Bearman prides herself in making it super special. This month’s is again in a secret location – we are promised food tasting though so we could be led into a darkened basement and I’d be happy! (Emma will be careful to point out it won’t be in a darkened basement however… Fascinating location guaranteed of course!)

Mr B. More rock n roll than Muse.

Then I’m off to Manchester to actually be a punter for once and see Muse play a supermassivegreenstadium with support from some bands I’ve definitely never heard of before called Pulled Apart by Horses and Editors. I’m particularly excited because I have never ever seen Muse play live before in my entire little life. I even skipped them this year at Glastonbury to see Mr B the Gentleman Rhymer because someone I know recommended him and I thought it’d be more rock n roll to spend the Saturday headline slot in a tiny tent up in la la land. (It was by the way, take my word for it).

In festival mode...

And finally, if you’re thinking about my title and wanting some Counting Crows, tough. Go find em on Spotify. If however you’re thinking about my title and thinking “Ha! The end of next week isn’t really everything after August now is it?!”, I will leave you with my extended-diary news that this week I have booked my flights to Reykjavik for the Iceland Airwaves festival in October, and a pre-festy trip to the northern Icelandic town of Akureyri. Northern Lights (hopefully), glaciers, whales, fish, hot pools, and lots and lots of live tunes. HELLYEAH!!!!)

OK, really going to find my wellies now…

Thanks Frank

People in slightly silly hats. Too many flags. Ace.

It’s been a right funny festival this Glastonbury. Lots of hype for the 40th birthday on top of the usual hype – but without wanting to sound like a massive hippy, I found it really difficult to feel a part of it this year, and lots of my friends felt the same. The full moon might have something to do with it. Ok, really not succeeding in not sounding like a massive hippy am I? The heat didn’t really help, and while it’s SO lovely not to have to trudge through 2 foot deep swamp mud, the lack of shade seems to have made everyone really irritable and grumpy (I work in the medical tent so maybe I see the worst of it, who knows).

Naughty full moon

So I was well looking forward to Frank Turner at his “secret” Strummerville campfire gig, especially as I’d missed his Queen’s Head set with looking after nauseous, dehydrated and grumpy people on my medical tent shift), although I was pretty sceptical we’d make it in time as I’ve tried to battle through the crowds to Shangri-la several times before and failed. Not to mention my friend’s uncanny ability to add 2 hours onto most journey times and the fact I know they close the Strummerville field to crowds pretty early as it’s really, really tiny. So imagine my delight when not only we FOUND Strummerville through the crashed aeroflot jets and mechanical insects and pterodactyls, but that they were STILL LETTING PEOPLE IN,  and THAT FRANK WAS STILL TO PLAY! RESULT! The festy was starting to go right!

Not strictly an insect, but mechanical nonetheless

So right in fact that after donning my fake beard (a present from a dear friend), who do we bump into but Mariachi el Bronx, who are also ABOUT TO PLAY A SECRET SET AT STRUMMERVILLE! Embarrassingly I decide to show my beard off to Matt el Bronx, who nods and smiles politely while I ramble on about how much I enjoyed their Live at Leeds set and their rather stupendous costumes. Poor bloke. But – I’m now awaiting secret gigs from 2 acts I really love, I’m with my friends and we’re all finally in a good mood – YES…

Bearded lady and worried-looking Mr Bronx

…Until 2 kids fall out of the crowd past us and towards the exit. I’m about to ignore them (someone will help, right?) until I realise we recognise one of them. Oh dear, time to go and check they’re ok. Which they are sort of, although one of them’s really really pissed and the other one’s trying his best to help her stand up. Through the jager, my hospital head kicks in. Stupid bloody hospital head. Cue 3 hours reassuring this lass she’ll be ok, explaining to her how to walk (so we can get her to welfare), and the second missed Mr Turner gig of the day. Grr. Thanks to the jager I wasn’t really pissed off, but I think everyone else might have been. Anticlimax city.

Rubbish

BUT – all is not lost. Frank is booked to play one more set at Glastonbury on the Leftfield stage. We arrive and the tent’s already packed, but we cram in the back next to two incredibly excited lasses (bless them) who can’t understand why I’m not jumping up and down and screaming like I’ve gone to see the Bay City Rollers. It’s me age love. Oh yeah, plus I’m knackered from looking after pissed people all weekend.

Leftfield

Now it’s taken me a while to “get” Frank Turner. My best friend introduced me to his stuff about a year ago, and whilst I didn’t dislike his songs (very catchy some of them I said to myself), I kinda really thought – hang on a minute, you’re not singing about anything I don’t already know. I’ve thought about stuff too you know, I know exactly what you’re saying, it’s exactly the advice I’d give to the kids I teach at uni, and exactly the sort of stuff I tell myself all the time.

Mr Turner

BUT.

That was before I’d decided to give up my job, leave the soul-destroying bureaucracy behind, and really think about what I want to do with the rest of my life. I’ve realised I stopped telling myself, much less believing, all that stuff about falling in love, not growing up, having really really amazing friends, living life to the full, and the music maaan, years ago. I’ve realised my job has cultivated a distinctly boring responsible streak (I know no-one I know will believe this, but it’s true – check me out with the little old grannies and my bright, starry-eyed paracetamol pushers of the future). I’ve realised that my job, however much I love the idea of it, is not making me happy, and I can go and do whatever the hell I want instead.

And suddenly I get Mr Turner.

Hi!

So here I am, in the Leftfield tent at Glastonbury, feeling tired and emotional as it is, trying not to cry my eyes out (again) while he plays Reasons Not To Be An Idiot (too many lines resonate. Just go listen. Call me a sap, I don’t care). I don’t stand a chance when it comes to blubbing of course when he plays Long Live the Queen; it’s one of the most heart-rending yet life-affirming songs I’ve ever heard (although it maybe gets to me more cos I work in a hospital and I do actually have to think about helping people live (in the yay!, rather than the technical sense of the word) while they’re ill).

So my third time lucky to see Frank at Glastonbury, after trailing up hill and down dale, after excitement then disappointment, then some jumping around a bit and looking forward to it some more, and he bloody goes and makes me cry.

Bastard.

But thanks, Mr Turner, you are bleeding awesome x

Happy festival times at last (Photo courtesy Dave Beveridge, beard courtesy Viv Youell)

It’s the last day to save BBC 6music

6 Music on my digital radio

Right now I’m listening to a live session on 6music by a band called Black Carrot. Cerys Matthews (she of the super sexy super girly lilting welsh voice – oh and she used to be in Catatonia) is telling me that this is the loudest band that she’s ever heard in session in the 6 music studios. Which is saying something from a radio station that has live music pretty much every day of the week, and has hosted sessions from The Cribs, PJ Harvey, Editors, Idlewild, Cut Copy, Manic Street Preachers, Spinnerette & Yo! Majesty. Of course there are lots of quieter bands on the 6 music session archive, lots of which you’ll have heard of, but lots of which you won’t. Which is quite nice I think.

Live Music on 6music screenshot

I should probably mention all this is going on before lunch on a Sunday, not exactly prime time for going to the effort of getting a band in to interview them and setting up their kit for a few live tracks. But that’s the beauty of 6 music (ok, one of its many beauties), is that it doesn’t matter what time of day it is, it doesn’t matter what day of the week it is, it doesn’t matter what commercial pressures or audience figures might be – they’ll go to any lengths to bring you, the listener (and licence fee payer), music that instills passion, intrigue and joy. In fact this is precisely the reason Cerys is bringing us Black Carrot this morning, because the blurb on the back of their CD (something to do with new-wave krautrock jazz) just makes you want to stick it in the CD player and find out more. I think that’s a reasoning hard to disagree with really, and I love that that the (QUOTE) “unique way the BBC is funded” (UNQUOTE) allows unconventional shit like this to happen, and for it to find my eardrums.

Save 6 Music

As you probably know by now, the BBC wants to axe 6 music and tag the programming onto whatever radio 2 can’t be bothered dedicating to their reasonable, but essentially MOR, output. There has been huge outcry from 6 music listeners, 2 huge protests have been organised outside Broadcasting House, and the listening figures have nearly doubled (!!) in the last 3 months to over 1 million. All this activity seems to contradict the official line from Auntie that 6 music is unpopular and caters for a quirky, unimportant minority, and that to maintain the current programming style, 6 music would have to keep its listenership small, therefore rendering it forever and essentially unviable, stuck in the world of catch 22.

Expressing one's opinion in no uncertain terms 🙂

But I think the Beeb underestimates its licence fee payers (want proof? “Over the Rainbow“. FFS, case closed). I’ve not heard the 6music content change since the listener increase thankyou very much, and I’m certain that the station’s new listeners have found it and stayed precisely because of its passionate and diverse programming. Well, why else would you stay if you didn’t like it?

Gorgeous 6 Music Protest organisers Laura Payne and Georgina Rodgers with DJ Adam Buxton (at the first protest)

I wasn’t able to attend the last save 6 protest yesterday (the Independent on Sunday was though, as were the @love6music crew, who both have coverage online now), but I did make it to the first one back in March, which attracted around 500 people to the forecourt outside Broadcasting House, every single one passionate about the programming the the BBC provides on 6music, and the voice that 6music gives genuine music lovers in a world clogged up with commercialism, advertising, powerful A&R guys, the “yoof market” and er – Simon Cowell.

The For Folks Sake girls

Forfolkssake have done a cracking report from that 1st protest with soundbites from protesters explaining exactly why 6music is so important – a varied but highly relevant collection of comments I think you’ll agree. The UK has a gem of a radio station, the envy of music communities worldwide. Where else can you hear music that’s new to you every 3rd or 4th song? And that’s not just new releases on the record pluggers’ lists, it’s independently released stuff, classics you might not ever have got round to investigating, older stuff that was obscure at the time (and still is now), songs from a genre that you don’t normally listen to – all of it chosen carefully by presenters with a real understanding of and joy for music.

Me with a 6music biscuit outside Broadcasting House. Yum.

Yesterday’s protest was the biggest yet, but 6music is still not safe, and may be in more danger than ever following the result of the general election. The protests’ aims have been to raise awareness of the station, show what it means to have a station with so much genuine enthusiasm for musical diversity in the UK, and, most importantly, encourage people to complete the BBC Trust’s consultation survey at www.bbc6music.info. Longwinded but reasonably straightforward, this consultation survey is the only route of complaint that the BBC have said they will take into account. BUT it closes on the 25th May. Today is 23rd May, so you need to get in quick if you haven’t already (assuming you do want to save it but my guess is you wouldn’t still be reading here if you were all about vocoder-ed commercial pop). Don’t forget to tell your friends!

The Beeb Trust Consultation Survey Logo. It's all in the balance, apparently...

If you still aren’t sure whether 6 music is worth all the fuss, you can either just ruddy well give it a listen, or if you prefer a visual approach you can see just how diverse and independent 6 music is here by comparing its output with some of its competitors (from the fascinating comparemyradio.com):

Radio 1 vs 6music

Radio 2 vs 6music

Absolute Radio vs 6music

NME radio vs 6music

Xfm London vs 6 music

None of the above play a greater variety of tracks than 6 music. Only Xfm London plays more than 30% of the same tracks as 6 music, and that’s not a national station – plus just look at their teeny tiny playlist!

Xfm vs 6Music playlists

6 music gives its listeners as well as artists a voice and that’s precisely why it’s part of the BBC’s licence-fee-based broadcasting remit. Personally I love 6 music, and I don’t like being told that my tastes aren’t important, so I’ve completed the survey. If you feel the same, you know what to do. It looks like this: www.bbc6music.info

Some lovely links:

Listen to BBC 6Music online

BBC 6Music homepage

Love6music.com Click the top menu for latest news, articles, opinions and more

Follow @Love6Music on Twitter

Save 6 Music Campaign on ForFolksSake. Letters, videos & inspiration

Stop the Cuts Petition from 38 degrees

AND OF COURSE, THE BBC TRUST CONSULTATION SURVEY

A Vinyl Junkie’s Sundrenched Dream

Record Store Day Queue, 8am. Crash Records

Inspiration
I’ve been having a little browse around the blogosphere today (yeuch, terrible word, who thought that up?) and happened upon fellow culture vulture contributor Ben Denison’s Good Arrows, who does lots of inspiring creative stuff with Leeds’ Hope and Social. This ties in nicely with some things I’ve been wanting to say about Record Store Day, for which I was queueing yesterday at the ungodly hour of 7.40am, outside Crash Records in Leeds, to buy VINYL. In 2010. And I don’t even have a record player.

Let me start at the beginning…
I’ve long loved packaging of music and its presentation – the more quirky or unusual the better. We never really had music on in the house when I was growing up – Terry Wogan over marmite on toast was about as avant-garde as it got. My mum didn’t like my dad playing anything more risque (Ian Dury and Led Zep are all I remember) with us youngsters around, and Top of the Pops was banned for the same reason. I even remember covering my ears and crying when a 60s party compilation cassette was on in the car once – the music wasn’t the sort of stuff Wogan played and I wasn’t used to it; I didn’t know how to react (I was only 7 in my defence). But I do remember poring over the inlay, and the brightly coloured drawings of the hip and groovy Austin Powers style scenesters partying on the front. And thinking wow. I can’t stop looking at this.

I’ve never bought my own records (aside from a couple of awful 7″s that I demanded to be allowed, when 7″s were all anyone bought), and then when my dad moved out and took the record player with him, it was cassettes all the way. Not really getting out much when I was a teenager meant my life revolved around the radio and the cassettes I (sometimes) bought or (more usually) borrowed & copied from the library or my friends (yes kids, this was how we used to do illegal filesharing).

Old-skool cassettes: side Ride

My choice of tapes was undoubtedly pretty pedestrian but I loved the artwork and attention to detail. Like a lot of people, I’d sit and listen to my new acquisition, staring at the packaging throughout the whole album – opening it, looking at the pictures, folding it back again, opening it up slowly, turning it round, trying to compute what the band wanted to convey. Had the artist made the words flow around the pictures? Were there any quirky details? (Side Drive / side Ride and trumpet silhouettes on the run-in were two of my favourites). This is something that’s engaging, and priceless even, about physical format music. You get none of this inclusivity or visual connection with mp3s, and sadly, a lot of this is being lost from commercial CD packaging too, to keep design and printing costs down and maximise profit – necessarily so in the on-demand culture. Naughty mp3s.

So it’s 2010, and I’m queueing to buy a cassette..
This brings me to Record Store Day (see my previous blog for culture vulture). There were two releases I really really wanted: firstly the new Blur 7″, and secondly the new limited-to-300-worldwide Goldfrapp cassette.

Goldfrapp- Head First (cassette release) Mother Vulpine - Keep Your Wits Sharp (her words are quick) (mint green vinyl release)

Now I didn’t think I’d have to fight for my Goldfrapp (sadly) but I knew that Blur would be a different kettle of fish – I’d never been shopping that early in my life. Fortunately the morning was sunny and my fellow queuers were in amiable mood, and I tried not to think about the facts that I was 34th in the queue and that Crash had only 25 copies of the Blur record on order.

1st choices of the first 31 people in the Crash RSD queue

I'm 34th!

But what else would I get? I have been known to buy vinyl before, if I love the band and the artwork, despite not having the facilities to play it in my own home (I do have friends who do I hasten to add). My prized mint green vinyl Mother Vulpine 7″ is a case in point. Some of the RSD releases were really special, and the effort gone into the artwork on the majority of items was stunning, even the simple stuff.

Queue buddies

My queue-buddy for the morning (hi Jonny!), who turned out the be a graphic designer, also often buys vinyl on the strength of the artwork or presentation. People don’t tend to release on vinyl these days unless they’re really passionate about their art, because they understand what I’ve long believed, and what Ben Denison explains better than I ever could: that the end result of creating according to your own art is more inspiring, joyous and desirable than anything produced with commercial goals in sight.

You may – or may not – like to know that I plumped for Crystal Castles in the end, with cover art that reminded me of how 12″s USED to be – those illicit LPs in my dad’s collection with just an atmospherically yellowed photo covering the front; the only text on the 288 square inches of the whole cover being boldly and simply on 6 lines on the back, just white on black. Speaks so many volumes, and differently to everyone who sees it.

Crystal Castles / Doe Deer 12"

Getting physical (Ha. Sorry..)

So unexpectedly, my Record Store Day experience has reminded me of things I’d long forgotten about physical format music, and in particular, vinyl. The cameraderie in the queue; the genuine and good natured excitement about what we would get to rummage through; hopefully take home, look at, hold, listen to, share, enjoy, and look at some more. My friend’s reaction when I gave him the Mogwai/F*** Buttons white vinyl 10″ split I’d bought him. My other friends’ reactions when I showed off my haul.

Mogwai/F*** Buttons 10" split on white vinyl

The last time I felt that was when I was swapping homemade tapes with my schoolmates when I was 15. But this is grown-up, and much much prettier.

I’m off to borrow some separates.